Playday Saturday...

with Making Marks, a team of artists who make public art (check out their website, it's wonderful work). When I rang to ask what I needed to bring with me, the answer came, 'nothing except yourself and a packed lunch'. This was something of a surprise, given the exhaustive supplies lists that usually go along with attending a workshop...but a good surprise! So up I turned, with lunch in hand, wondering what we would be doing... and the truth of it is, we were playing, and a great deal of fun was had by all concerned. The workshop was based around exploring the letters of the alphabet, choosing one (or a word with that letter in it), and making a 3D piece (or two...or three...) about what you had explored.

I really wanted to work with S...well, it's sinuous, sensuous, slippery, all these lovely sibilant sounds and thoughts...but when it came down to it, I couldn't get the word 'why' out of my head. It relates in part, I suppose, to the piece I've got in the Festival of Quilts this year, entitled 'Where'. I'd made a number of pieces of cloth with writing on them, mostly discharge dyed and then overdyed or painted. Why was one of them, but I hadn't got round to using it...and I found myself thinking about the conflicts around the globe, and wondering, WHY????? So I made a piece from wire and jute string, asking exactly that. You'll have to look hard to find it in the photograph...but I hope you'll think it was worth the study. In the end, I made three pieces, two from wire, one from willow, a material I'd never worked with and with which I fell instantly in love. So watch this space for willow work...

It was fascinating, not just to make the work, but to see what everyone else was making with what was a relatively limited selection of materials; cardboard, cloth, wire, yarns and wools, some other bits and pieces... In particular, at the end, we were encouraged to go and find a place to display the pieces in the churchyard at Salthouse, just next door to the hall we were working in. It was interesting to see where people chose to display their work, and how good it looked in situ. Amusing, too, to think about the exhibition goers wandering round the churchyard looking at the legitimate pieces that were displayed there as part of the exhibition, and possibly wondering what this 'alternative' exhibit was all about... I took a few photos of the work in situ, and am pleased to share a couple of other folk's work along with mine. Sadly, my memory has failed me...if I'm showing your piece, please get in touch and I'll provide proper attribution...sorry...